IB Project: Tutoring For Ten

By Tyler Shen, Allen Hilburn, and Varun Manickam

Community Need● In Today’s world, getting the head start in education is crucial.

● Many children are struggling with maintaining high scores and/or progressing

at a fast pace academically

● Extending the cause for education and providing teachers for low-income

schools nationally.

Why did we choose education?● Education is what builds our youth for the future

● Education for little kids is very relatable/easy to connect for slightly older kids

like us

● Education affects us all: Teachers, the government, students, and taxpayers

● Tutoring is beneficial for everyone; the students and the tutors themselves, as

they become masters of the subject they teach and understand the material

Research for Potential OpportunitiesPotential Elementary Schools for tutoring

● Durham Elementary

● River Oaks Elementary

● West University Elementary

Data from the NCES shows about River Oaks Elementary

● IB School

● Vanguard Magnet

● School includes Odyssey of the Mind, Spelling Bee, UIL, Violin

● We can tutor kids there for UIL activities and advanced academic courses

● Some UIL activities lack an actual coach

Donation opportunities

● Donors Choose

● Teach for America (what we ended up donating to)

● National Cristina Foundation

Which IB global context does Tutoring for Ten correspond with?

● Fairness and Development● Fairness and Development - Sharing our resources with others

● Developing humanity

What TFA(Teach for America) Does● Low income education is devastating (14% of Children growing up in poverty

will graduate from college within eight years of high-school graduation).

● Teach For America recruits outstanding and diverse leaders to become TFA

“corps members.” Corps members commit to teaching for two years in a low-

income community.

● For the 2019-20 school year, 6,190 corps members led alongside more than

55,700 alumni in over 50 urban and rural regions across the U.S.

Proposal for Action● Attached on TriBoard

● As a brief summary: Our goal is to provide individual-based tutoring for a low

price. (10 dollars per week for 4 weeks)

● Each week is a 1.5 hour session

● Impact is: Donating to TFA, improving children’s inquiry skills and test scores,

expanding a child’s education

● Teach impromptu skills/debating, math, science, reading

● Tyler’s House is location (River Oaks Area)

● 4th and 5th graders

● 2 Sundays and 2 after-schools

● At least 20 questions asked per session

Brief Timeline of Tutoring for Ten● 9/12/19 - First day of Brainstorm (Durham Elementary, West University Elementary, and River

Oaks Elementary)

● 9/16/19 - Contacted every school’s leadership team to advertise, wrote proposal for action

● 9/26/19 - First Supervisor Meeting (Find location)

● 9/29/19 - Creating Google Forms for Registration(included contact details, and

● 10/6/19 - Made a flyer to send to schools for advertising, including a qr code that leads to

registration form

● 10/27/19 - Talked with Ms. Keshav to set up Tutoring for Ten to coach ROE Impromptu students

● 10/31/19 - Second Supervisor Meeting (Gather bibliography)

● 11/3/19 - Tutoring Session 1 (Start Recording Questions Asked Data)

● 11/8/19 - Tutoring Session 2

● 11/14/19 - Feedback Form Created

● 11/17/19 - Tutoring Session 3

● 11/22/19 - Tutoring Session 4 and Feedback Form Sent Out

Flyer for SignUps● A Google Form was created so parents could learn everything about Tutoring for

Ten and sign up their children(contact details and student details)

Screenshot of Flyer Part 1(QR Code linked to Registration Form)

Screenshot of Flyer Part 2

Registration Form Photos ● Photos of Registration

Form that Parents filled out

● Responses helped us group each student into respective study groups

● Sent out reminders to each parent 2 days before every session

● Registration Form included contact details, and details about each student

Session Activities● Taught Impromptu Speaking(mainly for ROE UIL Impromptu students, using UIL

rules and sample topics), Math, Science, Reading, and Writing

Typical Schedule

3:00 - 3:15 : Ice Breakers and Orientation Games

3:15 - 4:20 : Tutoring (Supplemental games, teaching, homework help, etc.)

4:20 - 4:30 : Wrap Up Games and parent conversations

8 studentsA total of 8 students participated in Tutoring for Ten

160 dollars to TFA

Receipt ⟶

Photo Time!

Notes from Sessions

Kids learning

Kids having fun!!

Math Graph Reflection:

The proposal for action’s main impact is to increase the inquiry skil ls of the

students that are being tutored, therefore increasing the attendance, which at the

end of the day, increases the amount of money being donated to Teach for

America, an education non-profit. In today’s world, the problem with education is

not that kids lack the ability to become intell igent, but the lack of motivation to do

so. Motivation comes from questions that children will want to ask. Whenever you

immerse a child into a subject, the automatic need to explore as much as they

can(in this case, many kids were exposed to impromptu speaking very recently;

whenever Varun was teaching them the new material, they comprehended it and

wanted to learn as much as they could about the material being taught). This

impact of the project was accomplished, as every session had at least 38

questions asked per session, compared to the original hypothesis of having at

least 20 questions asked per session. Another impact was the progression of test

scores, confidence, and performance at competitions. All the children reported

that they had fun during the sessions, and felt more comfortable taking tests,

quizzes, and other assignments. One of the students, Justin Shah, felt more

comfortable speaking in public after taking Varun’s impromptu speaking class,

and even placed 3rd at one of the UIL competitions. He also reported that he

would like to pursue Speech and Debate in middle school, and is also interested

in extra tutoring from Varun to exercise his impromptu speaking skills. Finally, the

main impact that was analyzed from the graph was that there was a steady

increase in questions asked per session. This shows that the attentiveness of

each student increased and were more engaged in every session. That shows

that each student and educator’s skil ls were improving. Thus, each impact

discussed in the Proposal for Action was met and exceeded.

Math CalculationsCalculations

R (Correlation Coefficient) : 0.4982728791

R^2 (Coefficient of Determination) : 0.2482758621

m (slope) : 2.4

b (y-intercept) : (0, 37)

zero (x-intercept) : (-15.41667, 0)

Equation of Trendline = 2.4x + 37

Analysis of graph: Positive Linear Association

Ways to Find Slope of Trendline

Method 1: Calculator:1. Plot Points in stat list (Stat 1)

2. Stat→ 4 Enter Enter Enter

3. Alpha Trace Enter (Y1)

4. Enter Enter (Calculate)

5. Read a = 2.4

OR

1. Graph

2. 2nd Trace 6 (dy/dx)

3. Enter

4. dy/dx = 2.4 in lower left corner of screen

Method 2: Delta y/ Delta x Manually1. Find 2 Points (1, 39.4 and 3, 44.2)

2. Change in y = 4.8

3. Change in x = 2

4. 4.8/2 = 2.4

Method 3: Y2-Y1/X2-X1

1. Take the y1 and y2 values (39.4 and 41.8,

respectively)

2. Take the x1 and x2 values (1 and 2, respectively)

3. Subtract y1 from y2

4. 41.8 - 39.4 = 2.4

5. Subtract x1 from x2

6. 2 - 1 = 1

7. Divide y2 - y1 with x2 - x1

8. 2.4 ➗ 1

9. 2.4 = m = slope

Used Google Sheets and TI-84 Plus Silver Edition Calculator to graph and analyze data.

Feedback Form Reflections● Sent out a feedback form to understand each kid’s experience

● Results are on triboard

Reflection Overview● Increased inquiry skills and got more questions asked than anticipated

● Children felt more confident in assignments and schoolwork

● Parents were satisfied with reminders, frequent contacting, cheapness, and

effectiveness of tutoring to ensure a great experience

● Student Turnout was low; more money could be donated to TFA if advertised to more

schools and neighborhoods

● Coordinating times with each group member and tutored students was extremely

tough

● Schools didn’t respond immediately; anticipate for the worst and contact with officials

as early as possible(planning is crucial)

● Work on the project whenever you can and be communicative

● Brainstorming and planning process was efficient

● Tutoring was exceptionally efficient and was very engaging and extremely fun for

students(fun rewards and adaptations to teaching a certain material)

BibliographyAnnotated Bibliography

“The Benefits Of Tutoring.” GradePower Learning, 28 May 2019, Accessed at gradepowerlearning.com/benefits-of-tutoring/ on October 20, 2019.

Tutoring builds up a child’s motivation for learning and is a great supplement to improve weaknesses in academics. All children will benefit from tutoring, even if they are succeeding in academics. Tutoring offers a new approach from regular classroom

teaching, which can help engage all learner traits. Tutoring is an important aspect of building a child’s education.

“Unexpected Paths to Purpose.” Teach For America, 3 Sept. 2019, accessed at www.teachforamerica.org/stories/unexpected-paths-to-purpose on October 20, 2019.

Two examples of teachers that were impacted by TeachforAmerica were shown. Whenever teachers step into a school for the first time, they may feel a little out of place. It’s whenever they immerse themselves in the community , they get the feel of learning

and understanding their students. The Teach for America program funds these movements and teachers to teach in less-privileged schools.

“What Tutors Gain: The Benefits of Tutoring.” What Tutors Gain: The Benefits of Tutoring | Hawaii Community College , accessed at hawaii.hawaii.edu/node/463 on October 20, 2019.

Tutors learn the subject matter they tutor to an even greater degree than the students with whom they work. In order to tutor , you must learn the material well enough to answer any questions the students might have. You will also become self -confident from

mastering a subject well enough to tutor it. By tutoring, you gain skills and specific techniques that make your reading, writing, and speaking more effective. Tutoring reinforces your ability to communicate clearly, logically, and creatively . Tutoring exposes

you to different learning sty les. You will also become more aware of your personal learning style.

“Search for Public Schools - School Detail for RIVER OAKS EL.” National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a Part of the U.S. Department of Education, Accessed at

nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&InstName=River%2BOaks&SchoolType=4&SpecificSchlTypes=all&IncGrade=-1&LoGrade=-1&HiGrade=-1&ID=482364002567 on October 20, 2019.

River Oaks Student Data: The majority of the school is white(248). 55 kids are eligible for free lunch. 214 combined 4th and 5th graders. The student-teacher ratio is 17.44. Kids are generally already at a high education standard, but could however progress

into higher education and fine-tuning, which our tutoring can take care of.

Biblography Cont’dTFA Editorial Team. “Engaging With Critiques Of Teach For America.” Teach For America, 22 May 2018, Accessed at www.teachforamerica.org/stories/engaging-with-critiques-of-teach-for-america on October 26, 2019.

A common critique to Teach for America is that it takes away jobs from other prospective teachers. However, Teach for America uses its money to help qualify prospective teachers and incorporate them to teach at-risk schools and get the best information

before they enter the school atmosphere. Also, TFA wants to incorporate diversity into their system to teach any student.

“Neighborhood Library Meeting Spaces.” Houston Public Library, 25 Sept. 2019, Accessed at houstonlibrary.org/neighborhood-library-meeting-spaces on October 27, 2019

There is only one place open on Sundays for meeting rooms, which is Central Library, which is extremely hard to do. Saturdays are vacant for the Montrose Library Meeting Room and are also very convenient. Neighborhood Spaces can keep up to 75 people.

They also provide tables and chairs. Conference rooms also include boards.

Jon. “Tutor Jobs: Where Should You Hold Private Lessons?” We Love Prof - Superprof Blog, Superprof, 21 Mar. 2018, Accessed at www.superprof.us/blog/places-to-tutor/ on October 27, 2019.

There are many places you can offer tutoring. Libraries are great as you can get an unlimited source of information and can set up rooms or games using the library as a world to explore and do your tutoring. Homes are good also because it is smaller and you

can hold your own hours at your own desired time.

Bibliography Cont’dLeague, University Interscholastic. “A+ Impromptu Speaking.” A+ Impromptu Speaking - A+ Academics Events - University Interscholastic League (UIL) , Expression Engine 2.0, Accessed at www.uiltexas.org/aplus/events/aplus-impromptu-speaking on November 3rd, 2019.

While the school that we are tutoring is River Oaks, we are taking care of the UIL impromptu speaking activity . Sample Topics include:

● A law should be made that...

● Courage is...

● Freedom is like the ocean because...

● If I could only accomplish one thing in my life, I would like to ...

● If I wanted to impress someone, I'd tell them about my...

● If I'd known my parents when they were teenagers...

● Little Red Riding Hood should have...

● Loyalty should be given to ...

● Other cultures...

● Professional athletes' salaries...

● Teenagers would be better off...

● The one world event I remember most about this year is...

● You can make a child feel special by...

● If I could be president for a day, I'd ...

● Of the five senses, my favorite is...

● If I played a role in a TV show, I'd play...

● If I taught junior high school, I'd ...

● If I were an author, I would write about...

● If I were the leader of a new settlement on the frontier, I'd ...

● If I were the opposite sex, I'd ...

● If I wrote a personal mission statement, it would say...

● To get respect...

● It's OK to rebel when...

● People often stereotype...

● The strength of America lies in ...

● To me, success in life means...

● Why people are afraid to fail...

Every participant is given 3 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to speak, which is very different compared to traditional middle school impromptu rules. The contest gives participants experience in thinking, organizing, formulating clear thoughts, and delivering those thoughts to an

audience effectively. Impromptu is all about expanding ideas and thinking on the spot.

Bibliography Cont’d“10 Great Non-Profits Dedicated to Teachers, Students & Parents.” Teach, 20 Dec. 2011, Accesed at teach.com/blog/10-great-non-profits-dedicated-to-teachers-students-parents/ on October 25, 2019.

Education companies that you can donate to include: Donors Choose, Teach for America, First Book, National Cristina Foundation, and Office Depot. Teach for America donates to schools and helps getting schools the resources they need. The organization

specializes in funding teachers to teach high-need schools.

Keshav, Priya. Personal Interview. 27 October 2019.

Mrs. Keshav asked Varun Manickam, knowing he is a debater at Lanier Middle School, if he can help her impromptu squad get some real coaching. She negotiated with him an appropriate time to execute the coaching. Varun decided to merge Tutoring for

Ten with ROE Impromptu for the same price and same timing to make the most efficient sessions. She suggested that this coaching can attract more kids and lead to more money being donated to TFA.

Thank You!